06 May 2013

A Pirate’s Adventure

Elizabeth Caran, of Outlander Travel and Take The Monorail, stops by today
to break down her play-testing experience with the newest game to wash ashore
in Adventureland! A Pirate's Adventure: Treasure of the Seven Seas puts guests
in the middle of their own adventure with Captain Jack Sparrow and... well,
perhaps I should let Elizabeth fill you in on the rest!

Ahoy there, Mateys!

Captain Jack Sparrow has been making acquaintances all over the Caribbean,
and now YOU get to work with the famous pirate as he takes on treasure hunts
all over Adventure Land.

On our visit to Florida last week, my traveling party had the fantastic
opportunity to play test the newest interactive game at Walt Disney World. A
Pirate’s Adventure: Treasure of the Seven Seas combines the interactions with
statues and other realia in Agent P’s World Showcase Adventure with the key
card idea in Sorcerers of the Magic Kingdom. After getting briefed in the
Enlistment Quarters near Pecos Bill and obtaining a talisman (key card), you
grab a map corresponding to your assigned mission and head out to find clues
and defeat enemies throughout Adventure Land. (We were discouraged from taking
pictures inside the Enlistment Quarters, so I am sorry I cannot show you what
it looks like on the inside here.)

Only two adventures were running when we played, and our first was The
Guardian’s Curse. One of our party then played through The King’s Ransom while
the others carried on to other fun in the park. However, because we are the
curious sort, we also checked out the maps for three other adventures: Heads
You Lose, Haven Defense, and Blackbeard. Each adventure has a unique map to
help you find hot spots that you will need to complete your particular
adventure. Each adventure also has you seeking a different treasure for a
different friend, enemy, or ally. The stations for the game are small but
detailed and very cool with moving parts and engaging details. Instructions are
simple and the whole family can play. As you follow the directions on the map
and at the various stations, you trigger actions on items around you, usually
by placing your Talisman over a specified mark on the station. Each adventure
really only takes about fifteen minutes, so in the time it takes you to move
through a queue and ride an attraction, you can complete one or two adventures!

When we finished playing, we were asked how we liked the game, how easy the
maps were to read (the maps are styled like treasure maps and have a similar
look to the Sorcerer map), and whether we would play again. We were told that
the maps are not final and very well may change before the final adventures are
released. We also have no idea how close to release they are. There was one key
station that appears on all the maps that is not yet functioning. I am hoping
from the look of it that it will dispense some sort of token, dubloon, or other
collectible to prove you completed that mission.

Our whole party found it engaging and fun. The only thing I would want to
add is a collectible element as I mentioned above. Coins or dubloons would be
the perfect little souvenir, and let’s face it... people love free stuff. I
believe the talismans are all the same and would imagine that they will not let
you play the same adventure twice on the same talisman, although that is pure
supposition on my part. We don’t know how long the play test will go on, and I
know it is not every day, as we walked by on the weekend and the Enlistment
Quarters were closed. We also saw that many people passed it by as the pirate
tried to lure them in to try the game. So if you have a chance, be sure to
seize the opportunity to play!

This article can also be found at Take The Monorail, along with a different
assortment of photographs to assist with your pirating documentation! All photographs in this article are credited to Elizabeth Caran.